Church groups oppose federalism, saying it will be 'for the worse': "We are gravely alarmed"

Manila, Philippines – On Thursday, certain church groups
expressed concern over the proposal to change the country’s form of government
into Federalism, saying it would be “for the worse” and would only put the
Filipino people far the edge, as bigger taxes would be imposed to support the
bigger political establishment.

The group says they were “grave alarmed” by the said move of
the Duterte administration.

“We are gravely alarmed by the Duterte government’s
move to change the 1987 Philippine Constitution for federalism.” 13 regional ecumenical councils
or RECs of the National Council of Churches of the Philippines said in a
statement.

The RECs argued: “Certainly, there is no popular clamor for
it; recent surveys show that there is an increasing number of Filipinos opposed
to charter change.”

The group also claimed the shifting to federal form of
government will only benefit a few, saying that it would “allow foreign
businesses to own larger shares of various ventures that were safeguarded by
our present Charter.”

Furthermore, the religious group added that federal system
would also give way to “expand and strengthen the power of political dynasties
and constrict the democratic space in our society further.”

Just last month, another critic of President Rodrigo
Duterte, Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo, called the Charter change a
“Trojan Horse”, saying that it will be a smokescreen for few people to take
control of the country once implemented.